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Wilhelm Strasse (MachineGames)
Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse (1860-1960) was a leading member of the German Armed Forces, a gifted researcher and doctor who heads the SS Special Projects Division. He is the main antagonist of Wolfenstein series. His rank in Return to Castle Wolfenstein is Oberführer (Senior Leader), but he was later promoted to Obergruppenführer (General) in Wolfenstein. He also plays a major part as the main antagonist in Wolfenstein: The New Order. ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' Oberführer Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse was the man behind the creations of both the Lopers and the Übersoldaten; towering cyborg soldiers that were heavily armed and armored. Unlike the other SS antagonists, Deathshead is not into the occult and would prefer to arm the Nazi war machine using advanced technology, but has been ordered to provide his creations to Operation Resurrection by Heinrich Himmler himself. He is first encountered in the Secret Weapon Facility. Himmler has also asked him to join the resurrection ceremony but Deathshead declined due to his lack of care in the occult. Deathshead continuously taunts B.J. Blazkowicz during his duel in the lab with an Übersoldat, commenting, "Thus we will see the superiority of the machine over flesh and blood." After the protagonist wins the fight, Deathshead narrowly escapes in a rocket plane and goes into hiding, and not to be seen again for the rest of the story. ''Wolfenstein'' Wilhelm Strasse, for some reason, was demoted to Obersturmführer (as seen on his collar). He is revealed to be the main antagonist of the game. Many believed he had been summoned from Berlin to replace the deceased Obergruppenführer Viktor Zetta, it was believed that Deathshead resumed the latter's research into Veil technology, especially for making new advanced weapon technology (however there are indications from some of the letters from Central Command that Zetta was Deathshead's subordinate long before the Zetta's death, and that Strasse had been in charge of the operation for a long time, as the real mastermind behind the projects). Employing the formidable Hans Grosse as his bodyguard, Deathshead orchestrated the capture of Kreisau Circle leader Caroline Becker and held her hostage at his castle base. While constructing a Veil Portal, Deathshead had the opportunity to exact revenge on Blazkowicz as he arrived to save Caroline. Unfortunately, he missed out on it as Caroline's interference destroyed his portal, forcing him and Hans to flee the area while Blazkowicz dealt with the Queen Geist. Having done enough work on Veil technology, Deathshead constructed a Veil weapon on his large zeppelin and planned to test it on Isenstadt before unleashing it on the Allied Powers. With Hans behind him, Deathshead entered the Black Sun Dimension where the weapon was installed and is greeted by Blazkowicz. Already expecting the American to follow him, Deathshead revealed to Blazkowicz an armored and Veil empowered Hans and returned to the zeppelin to oversee the weapons test, ordering Hans to kill Blazkowicz. To his shock, not only did he see an alive Blazkowicz emerge from the portal, Deathshead noticed that Blazkowicz had destroyed the Veil weapon and severely damaged the zeppelin causing it to crash into the castle base in a fiery wreck. While Blazkowicz hoped his archenemy had perished, he had a feeling that the mad doctor survived. Unbeknownst to him, a battered and bruised Deathshead emerged from the zeppelin wreckage and screamed in anger at his failure in the final cutscene. ''The New Order'' Strasse returns in Wolfenstein: The New Order. He is one of the main antagonists in the game and was responsible for turning the tide of World War II for the Nazis' favor. Strasse shows to have been badly scarred since his last appearance. Probably due to the wounds he sustained from the last game. Europe, 1946. World War II rages across Europe. Where once the Allies pressed advantage, the Nazi forces have turned the tide in dramatic fashion behind the technologically advanced war machine of General Wilhelm Strasse -- Deathshead. When a final Allied assault on Deathshead's compound fails, the Allies’ greatest hope falls with it. General Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse, a gifted and devoted researcher, is head of the SS Special Projects Division. Utterly devoid of any moral scruples, the General's experiments in new technology gave the Nazi war machine the edge it needed to win the war and force the world into submission. During the war, Deathshead almost perished in a zepplin crash. This near death experience gave him a fresh outlook on life and he loves every minute of it. 1946 In 1946, Deathshead continued working on weapons that would cripple the Allied Forces beyond repair. The Allies sent B.J. Blazkowicz and teams of highly trained soldiers to Deathshead's compound where they fought their way into the castle. After being captured by Deathshead and his Super Soldiers, he forces B.J. to choose either between Private Probst Wyatt III or Fergus Reid. He then takes the one chosen by Blazkowicz and vivisects him right then and there before leaving the others to die an agonizing death. 1960 By 1960, Deathshead continued to create more advanced weapons, machines and improved on some of his much older projects, such as the Super Soldiers. He also becomes the continuing target of the Kreisau Circle and B.J. Blazkowicz. Eventually after the fall of the London Monitor, his forces managed to storm the Kreisau Circle's headquarters, capturing some of their members. This eventually led to the second and final battle at his compound in Poland, between him and Blazkowicz. After an intense battle, Blazkowicz manages to defeat Deathshead and stabs him several times before Deathshead pulls a grenade and blows himself up. The blast killed Deathshead, but badly mauled Blazkowicz. Personality & Traits Deathshead is known to be a ruthless and sadistic man with no sense of morality, saying such things as "Unfit for the 'Master Race'". He is also known to be very unethical when it comes to his research and doesn't care what happens to the subject, as long as his experiments give him results. He also enjoys seeing his enemies' pain, as well as seeing them tortured. Despite his prior failures, Deathshead is known to never tolerate failure, especially from his own men. Throughout his life, Deathshead has proven to be a very dedicated Nazi and researcher for the Third Reich. Even at the age of 100, Deathshead's personality has not changed, even in the face of death. Despite his sadistic and amoral nature, Deathshead has also proven to be somewhat cowardice when it comes to his troops or experiments failing him and has known to run from the opposing force before they can either capture or kill him. He like other Nazis, has shown that he's not always a patient man when it comes to progress. He's also been known to underestimate his enemies such as B.J. Blazkowicz and usually places his overconfidence in his experiments when it comes to them killing B.J. Despite his division's collaborations with the SS Paranormal Division, Deathshead is a non-believer in the occult and the supernatural, even though he assisted the paranormal division in harnessing the Veil Power, and he provided Super Soldiers to the SS Paranormal Division to conduct Operation Resurrection. Military Rankings Throughout his career as a Nazi, Deathshead has been known by many rankings and has achieved various promotions. * Oberführer (Senior Leader, this is an SS only rank): In Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Deathshead was an Oberführer''' when he first encountered B.J. Blazkowicz. *'''Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant General): In Wolfenstein, Deathshead has been shown to have been promoted to the ranking of General. He could have gained such a promotion after making a great amount of contributions to the SS Paranormal Division in their quest to harness the power of Black Sun Dimension. * Although Deathshead has incorrectly been given the uniform of a Wehrmacht Field Marshall in Wolfenstein: The New Order (The SS did not have such a rank, neither did they wear the same uniform as their army counterparts), it is revealed in Chapter 13 "Lunar Base" that he is now the Reich's Minister of Advanced Research while still retaining the rank of Obergruppenführer. While this is most likely a mistake made by the developers, it's possible that after the war, the SS merged with the Wehrmacht and other organisations of the Reich, becoming the ultimate organisation of action in the new Germania, explaining Deathshead's uniform. He is likely wearing it to express his authority as a war veteran or a long time figure in the Reich.This theory is quite probably due to the fact that the SS logo is seen on so many characters working on very different places throughout the game. Quotes Trivia *It is very likely given his actions and fanatical allegiance to the Third Reich, that Strasse played an instrumental role in carrying out the Final Solution. The extermination of Europe's Jews, Gypsies, and Slavic peoples, and that at least some of the weapons he developed came from experiments on concentration camp prisoners. * It is unclear who Strasse's English voice actor is in Return to Castle Wolfenstein. In Wolfenstein: The New Order, he is voiced by Dwight Schultz. *Along with B.J., Strasse is the only character (and antagonist) who appears in all games in the new Wolfenstein series, at least before the release of The New Order. *Deathshead is a reference to the the skull and crossbones symbol that appeared on the caps and uniforms of the SS, called Totenkopf, also commonly known as the Deaths-head symbol. *Strasse has some similarities with the Marvel Comics and Captain America villain Red Skull. Both are high ranking Nazi scientists and officers, have a skull themed name/alias, develop advanced weapons, and (to vastly different degrees) have a skull like appearance. *Deathshead has had an interesting career in the Wolfenstein games over the years. In his first outing, Deathshead was an SS Oberfuhrer while in the Wolfenstein 2009 he was promoted to a Obergruppenführer (General), albeit with the wrong collar tab insignia (see above). By the time of The New Order, Herr Deathshead has apparently been transferred from the SS to the Wehrmacht, as his uniform is that of a high ranking army staff officer i.e. General. It is unknown why this is the case, as screenshots and trailers for the game show other characters (Frau Engel) with SS uniforms. **The reason for this career change appears to be the lack of research into Deathshead's personal history, i.e. the previous installments, by the developers. **It can also be noted that while the soldiers at the start of the game are listed to be Wehrmacht, they all use the SS collar rune. This, combined with the uniforms worn by Deathshead and Frau Engel imply that the Wehrmacht has been absorbed into, or taken over by the SS. * In the French version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein and The New Order, Deathshead is known as 'Le Boucher' (The Butcher) although his real name, Wilhelm, remains the same. ** Dr. Edward Richtofen from the Call of Duty franchise's Zombie mode has also the same nickname. He is also very similar to Deathshead in various ways. *** He is an insane psychopath that likes to dissect his victims. *** He took part in activities similar to Deathsead, such as Super Soldier experiments, experimental weapons, etc. during World War II. *With the exception of New Order, Strasse is always seen wearing a monocle. However, he is seen wearing a monocle in a painting during the level Deathshead's compound. He also puts one on right before he vivisects Private Wyatt/Fergus Reid. ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' *According to the Return to Castle Wolfenstein manual, he is based on Doctor Schabbs. He has much in common with him. Both are doctors who are very scientifically educated and both have developed ultimate creations; Strasse's technological brainchild is the Übersoldat and Schabbs' biological masterpiece is the Übermutant. ''Wolfenstein'' *In Wolfenstein, Strasse's name is alternately spelled "Strauss". This is a mistake in the 2009 game; Strauss and Strasse are very different names with different meanings. *The insignia on his collar in Wolfenstein lists him incorrectly as an Obersturmführer (Lieutenant) instead of an Obergruppenführer (General). *In the last mission of Wolfenstein, it's possible to chase and shoot him, he does not seem to take any damage, however. *According to Jack, he is one of the most dangerous figures in the Third Reich. *In the mission the castle, Strasse has a painting of himself in the dining hall, rather than a picture of Hitler. This seems to indicate that he views himself higher than the Fuhrer. In a letter to Heinrich Himmler in RTCW Strasse mentions Heinrich being misled by individuals whose mental competence must be called into question, this may be a reference to Hitler's mental state as well. *Some time between Wolfenstein and The New Order, during the Nazis rise to world domination. Strasse's focus would shift more from exploiting the supernatural to experimenting with decopunk-styled robotics and technologies into the 1960's. ''The New Order'' *Deathshead wears a mechanic's overall over his uniform, implying he spends more time creating war machines and weapons than leading troops. *According to the Wolfenstein: The New Order website, Deathshead is 100 years old in 1960. Possibly using unnatural methods to retain his health. **This would mean Strasse was 83 years old during Return to Castle Wolfenstein ''and ''Wolfenstein, and 86 during Wolfenstein: The New Order's prologue. *Though not show up until the end of the 1960 timeline, his voice can be heard throughout the game via propaganda boardcasts. *When Deathshead is using a Mechanized Armor, he says to B.J. "Die, allied schweinehund!" This is a throwback to Mecha Hitler in Wolfenstein 3D. Interestingly, both Armor have similar design. *Deathshead appears to have become a leading Nazi figure since their victory in the war due to the fact he is personally involved in many major projects (Both civilian and military) such as the London Nautica and the Lunar Base. * Deathshead is featured in all of The New Order's loading screens. * During Chapter 13, "Lunar Base", as the player exits the space shuttle into the arrivals lobby, an audio speech by Deathshead can be heard where he says that he is the Minister of Advanced Research. * According to his dialogue, he preferred to dissect Wyatt, but he will dissect Fergus if B.J. chooses him. Gallery ''Return to Castle Wolfenstein'' Wilhelm_Strasse.jpg Deatshead_in_SWF.JPG|Wilhelm Strasse in the Secret Weapons Facility. strasser_xlabs.png|Strasse in his X-lab. ''Wolfenstein'' Wolfenstein-Strasse 2.png|Wilhelm Strasse with Hans Grosse holding Caroline Becker, confronting Blazkowicz in the Castle of Isenstadt. Wolfenstein-Strasse 3.png|Wilhelm Strasse in the Black Sun Dimension. ''Wolfenstein: The New Order'' 573025.png|Wilhelm Strasse with an UberSoldat. Deathshead.jpg WtNO Deathshead.jpg Deathshead2.png|Deathshead in 1946. General-Deathshead-Wolfenstein-The-New-Order-Villains-Concept-Art-640x1024.jpg|Concept art of Deathshead in The New Order. References Ross es:Wilhelm Strasse fr:Wilhelm Strasse nl:Wilhelm Strasse Category:Characters Category:Return to Castle Wolfenstein characters Category:Wolfenstein characters Category:The New Order characters Category:Nazis Category:Bosses Category:The New Order bosses